From Hate to Love
by nicecupoftea07
Summary: James loves Lily with his whole heart, but its 7th year and she still hates him. Will he capture his red-haired goddesses heart by the end of school? A typical LilyJames coming to love each other fic.Updated on Feb. 7 woot!
1. The Last Time at Kings Cross

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Harry Potter, they belong to J.K Rowling.

Authors note: This is my first attempt at a Lily and James fic, I have no idea how long it will go for but for God's sake please review and let me know what you think. Even flames are ok. Thanks a bunch!

The Last Time at Kings Cross

By NiceCupofTea1107

Lily ran as fast as she could through the barrier. It had always been strange to her, running through what seemed to be a solid wall. Maybe it was because she had grown up a Muggle. This would be her last time running through the barrier to get on the train to Hogwarts. She had been thinking about this time all of summer, the beginning of the end of a great beginning her father had jokingly called it. Now she realized that this was exactly what it was. She had promised herself that at graduation she wouldn't cry…she had so much to look forward to, maybe even a nice job at the Ministry. Plus, once she was out of Hogwarts, she'd never have to see her sister Petunia again. Lily scrunched up her nose at the thought of her sister. Her sister and her were nothing alike. Petunia had a long thin face, quite like a horse, and stringy blond hair. Even though they were sisters, they didn't get along.

"Oh well…" Lily sighed. She slowly pushed her cart towards a door way, she was just about to heave her trunk off the cart when she heard someone calling her name.

"Lily! Lily Evans!" Lily turned to look at who was calling her name. It was her friend Arissa.

"Arissa!" Lily yelled. Her friend was running towards her, her long black hair streaming out behind her as she ran and her blue eyes wild with excitement.

Arissa tackled Lily and grabbed her in a fierce hug. "Oh Lily! It's been too long since we've seen each other."

Lily hugged her friend back just as tightly. "I know, it seems like we've been a life time away, even though we've been writing all summer."

Arissa pulled away and looked at her friend. Lily had changed. Her hair was glossier, and her eyes twinkled with an inner fire, as they always had done, but now the small kindling had turned into a blaze. And to top it all off, she was wearing makeup. "Oh Lily…you look so good, that makeup looks fantastic on you." Arissa put her hand to Lily's face. "Did anything happen over the summer that I should know about duck? You seem so much more…I'm not sure."

Lily laughed, and her laugh sounded out through out the station like a bell. For a second, it seemed as if the whole station stopped just to listen to her laugh, but Arissa assumed it was just a trick of her imagination.

"I cursed Petunia over the summer." Lily said with a wink.

"No! You didn't!" Arissa gasped and then couldn't help but laugh herself.

"I did! Her and that ruddy fiancé of hers were making fun of me, so since I'm of age now I decided that they needed a good cursing." Lily smiled at her friend.

"What curse did you use?" Lily's black haired friend asked expectantly.

"Jelly Legs."

"Niiice!!" Arissa exclaimed.

"I know! It was so amazing to see both of their legs turn to jelly and then see them try to walk!" Lily broke out into a fit of giggles.

After several moments of giggling, finally Arissa said to her friend, "Ok well I'm going to go get my trunk, and Lynn and save us a seat k? I'll see you on the train!"

"Ok! See you in a few!" And with that Arissa trotted off to go find their other friend and get her things together.

Lily bent down towards her trunk to yank it off the cart when she heard a masculine voice say, "Here, let me help you with that."

"Prongs! Hey Prongs!" Sirius jumped up and down so James would be able to see him. Prongs had just come through the barrier, pushing a cart with a trunk and a cage with a brown barn owl in it.

"Padfoot!" James left his things parked by a brick wall and ran as fast as he could to his best friend. "It feels like ages since I've seen you!" James pulled his best friend into a guy hug, each of them pounding each other's backs.

"James…I stayed with you over the summer, I just left a week ago to get my stuff from home that I forgot." Sirius grinned.

"So?! It still seems like its been forever!" James grinned back at him.

"And how has my Jamesy been since I last saw him?" Sirius said, pushing his own cart towards James cart.

"Oh can't complain, its been ok…but you know my parents…'Why aren't you going out with any nice witch? I should fix you up with Eamon Callhoun's daughter, although I hear she's going out with a young man named Arthur Weasley…I think he just graduated last year from Hogwarts." James rolled his eyes. "Ah well, you remember Arthur Weasley don't you? That nice red haired chap that helped you get your foot out of that damned trick step during first year? I hear he's got a job at the Ministry. Oh well, we'll be off to working soon enough then we won't have to deal with our parents anymore." James made a face as he thought of Sirius' mother.

"Well at least your parents didn't kick you out!" Sirius said enthusiastically. "Anyway I plan on having at least 4 girlfriends this year, I mean with my fantastic body it should be no problem." He winked at his friend. "Oh well look who it is! Evans trying to get her trunk off the cart! I think I'll go help her." Sirius started off.

"Sirius! No! Gah!" James ran as fast as he could so he could pass up his friend. He skidded to a stop right at the trunk, just before falling over it. He quickly cleared his throat. "Here, let me help you with that."

"Thanks, but no thanks Potter. I can handle this on my own." Lily retorted quickly and attempted to yank the trunk out of his grasp.

"Oh come on Evans. Both of our trunks are heavy, I'll help you carry yours in and then you can help me with my trunk and Demeter." James waved his hand towards his cart where a huge trunk sat along with a barn owl in a cage.

"Oh fine." Lily gave a sigh of frustration.

James bent down towards the trunk, and Lily followed suit. Together they carried her trunk through the hall of the train, kids pushing past them, sliding into compartments and yelling to friends they hadn't seen since June. Lily headed straight for the Head Boy and Girl compartment, James holding onto the other handle, while being practically dragged along behind her. She slid open the door and stepped in, looking around with wide eyes. James followed behind her, also looking around the fantastically furnished room with amazement.

"Bloody hell…this is ace!" He dropped his end of the trunk with a bang and ran over to a cart that was filled with Pumpkin Pasties and all sorts of other treats.

The compartment was large and roomy, instead of the normal benches with cloth coverings, it contained large stuffed chairs and couches, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the walls were paneled with redwood and teak, and there were instructions on what to do sitting on top of the cart in which James was now leaning over and grabbing candy and other treats.

"Potter! These things are only for the Head Boy and Girl!" Lily said with a haughty tone.

"Oh din't ju hur?" James turned around to face her, his face stuffed with Pumpkin Pasties. He was attempting to form the words around the food. He took a huge swallow then said with a large smile, "I'm Head Boy." He had little bits of orange and white stuck in his top teeth. He ran his tongue over his teeth and the small bits of food quickly disappeared. He quickly strode over towards where the red-haired girl was standing, her eyes so wide they seemed as if they would pop out of her head. He slung his arm around her. "Oh come on Evans, it won't be that bad, we'll have fun, playing pranks…punishing Slytherins…blaming things on Peeves…fun." He said, his voice slowly trailing off into a wistful tone.

Lily slowly came to her senses. "Oh no we won't! At least I won't! And you! You'll behave! No pranks, no punishing anyone who doesn't deserve it and absolutely NO sneaking into the kitchens to rile up the house elves! You will behave and act like the Head Boy is SUPPOSED to act! Do you hear me?!" Lily's brilliant green eyes flamed into brilliance with her anger.

"Ok ok I was just kidding, jeez, you gonna help me with my trunk and owl or what?" He turned and stalked out of the compartment and back out onto the platform where his trunk was sitting and where his owl was ruffling its feathers in disgust at being left on the platform, while her owner was off with some girl.

James crouched down and carefully opened up the golden cage door. "Here girl…come on you silly bird." He put his arm by the opening of the door and the brown barn owl hopped onto his arm. "Now I'll meet you in my room at Hogwarts, have a good flight darling." He thrust his arm into the air and Demeter spread her wings and took flight, flying over the train and then off into the distance.

Lily watched all this from the door of the train. She carefully observed James' face as he thrust his fist up into the air. She saw love and tenderness in his eyes for his pet, and she was amazed that she was noticing this because she normally thought of him as a conceited little brat who got away with anything.

"James…I'm sorry about what I said. Come on, I'll help you with your trunk so we can get a move on." Lily bent down to pick up a handle, and together they carried his trunk and an empty cage onto the scarlet train that would take them to their final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Finis! Tell me what you think guys and gals, keep in mind this is my first fic, enjoy!


	2. Dementors on the Train

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters except for Arissa and Lynn, they belong to me and therefore I can do whatever I want with them! MOO HOO HA HA HA! Ok I'm finished.

Dementors on the Train

By Nicecupoftea1107

James settled down in a red velvet covered chair on the train, Chocolate Frogs and Pumpkin Pasties wrapped in napkins settled in his lap. He picked up a Pumpkin Pasty and took a bite out of it. Lily was still standing in the doorway, thinking about how easily he had shrugged off her apology and had settled into the role as Head Boy. She moved into the room and picked up some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans that were in a gilded bowl also on the cart. She also picked up several Chocolate Frogs, then she sat down into a gold velvet covered chair, near James. Since both the Head Boy and Head Girl were from Gryffindor this year, it was decorated in complete red and gold, with a gold lion's head hanging above the doorway. This was the first time in ages that both the Head Boy and Girl had been from the same house.

James quickly devoured his food, while Lily was still finishing off her Every Flavor Beans. He quickly stood up and glanced at the red haired girl who had just popped a jelly bean into her mouth. She began to chew slowly. She scrunched up her nose and looked at the black haired man that was standing up and looking at her.

"Yeech…ear wax!" She quickly swallowed it.

"Yuck!" He scrunched his nose up as well. "Well I think I'm gonna go change into my school robes, I'll be back in a little bit." He walked over to the rack where 2 black trunks were sitting, he rolled up his jumper sleeve, revealing a silver wristband with 9 emeralds and 9 rubies imbedded in it. He waved the band in front of his trunk and you could hear a slow ticking come from inside the trunk. Seconds later, the trunk popped open, revealing a broomstick, other small odds and ends and 3 separate piles of nicely folded jumpers, jeans, sweat pants, uniforms and underwear.

Lily blushed and turned away as James pulled out a pair of uniform pants, shirt, sweater vest, tie, a nice pair of black leather shoes and his long sweeping black school robes with the Gryffindor crest. He gathered all this things up in his arms. "Well I'm gonna go to the water closet and get changed real quick, then you can go get changed and we can start patrols." He strode towards the door, reached out a hand toward the silver knob, noticing the ice that was forming on the windows. He frowned. It was September…why was there ice on the windows? He shrugged it off and stepped into the bathroom. James pulled off his jeans and quickly yanked on his black uniform pants. He pulled off his jumper, but left his under shirt on. He quickly pulled on his shirt and buttoned it up with lightning speed. Just as he was putting on his gray sweater vest, he heard a sharp piercing scream coming from the Head Boy and Girl Compartment. "Lily!" He quickly yanked his wand out of his other pants, pulled open the door and sprinted as fast as he could towards the compartment. He opened the door briskly, noticing the ice that had formed on the silver door knob and the gray mist that was sliding all over the floor of the entire train. He quickly turned the door knob, and flung open the door, his wand at the ready. A wave of icy coldness hit him as soon as he took a step into the room. A woman was screaming in his head.

James shook his head briskly, ignoring the voice screaming in his head. He shot a look towards Lily. She was lying on the floor, eyes wide with fear and her wand laying just inches from her fingers, but she was too terrified to reach for it. He flung himself on top of her, wave after wave of icy coldness crashing over him, until finally he closed his eyes, thinking that he would forever fall into the deep dark depths of the cold.

"Lily! Take Harry and go! Go now! Run!"

"No! I won't leave you James! We'll fight on together!"

"No! Think of Harry! Think of life! Now! Go!"

Lily continued to sit in her gold chair, munching on Jelly Beans. She was contemplating taking out her notes and studying for a little bit. She had started studying for N.E.W.Ts at the end of 6th year. She was just about to pop a green jelly bean into her mouth when the door opened. She looked up, expecting to see James there, looking dashing in his school robes. Instead there was a tall figure in a dark cloak. Lily gasped in surprise. She had read about these, they were called dementors. She stood up and pulled her wand out, getting in the defensive position that she had been taught all those many years ago at Hogwarts. The thing was just inches from her and towering over her in a matter of seconds, cold hitting her like a splash of icy water. She felt her wand slip from her fingers and onto the ground, and then seconds later she felt her knees give out.

Lily laid on the floor, staring up into the dark hood. The figure was bending over her now, ready to take the strong human life that was so graciously given to it. Lily heard the door open, but didn't bother to look towards the door. All of a sudden, she felt something come between her and the dementor. It was a body, warm and welcoming. She saw that the body had black hair. James! She was beginning to come to her senses now, and she saw that the dementor was leaning over James, its decaying hands going up to remove the hood and give him the kiss of death. Silver wisps came out from every pore in his body, his spirit.

"James! Get up! Get up now!" She was screaming at the top of her lungs, shaking him. Unconsiously she began pouring her own life spirit into his, driving away the cold in him, making his eyes slowly open. He leapt up to his feet his wand at the ready and spoke an incantation.

"EXSPECTO PATRONUM!"

A huge silver stag flew out from the tip of his wand and gathered the dementor in its horns, pushing the black thing from the room.

"James! What happened?! I thought you were dead for sure! And what was that charm you used!" Lily said, the fear eminent in her eyes.

James pulled her into a fierce hug. "Lily…" his voice was scratchy. He held her for several moments, until finally he realized what he was doing.

James pulled away quickly. "I'm sorry. Are you ok?" He had to bend his knees slightly to look into her eyes.

Lily nodded wordlessly. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Finally after clearing her throat several times, she was able to speak. "I thought you were dead James…"

The tall black haired man gave her an extremely startled look. "Did you just call me James?"

Lily cleared her throat. "No…of course not. I called you Potter."

James smiled. "Oh well. You thought a dementor could kill James Harold Potter? I think not!" He laughed a laugh that was deep in his throat. "You better go get changed Lily…we'll be pulling into Hogwarts in about an hour and you and I still have to walk the train and make sure the little buggers are staying in line. It was the Patronus Charm." And with that he strode toward the door and walked out to patrol the train, leaving Lily alone to contemplate what had just happened.

The end! takes a bow please review!!


	3. New Beginnings

Ok so I don't own any of these characters except for Arissa and Lynn, the rest belong to J.K. Rowling, so for the love of all that is holy don't sue me.

Please add me to your favorites list so people will read and hopefully review! Thank you I love you all soo much!!

Now! On with the story! picks up sword and marches off into the distance

**New Beginnings**

**By Nicecupoftea1107**

_There is a woman at the beginning of all great things._

_--Alphonse de Lamartine_

James had finished patrolling the halls and had just had enough time to return to the Head Boy and Girl compartment to pick up some more food and get his things in order. Lily had arrived just seconds after him, breathless and red in the cheeks.

"What happened Lils? You look positively flushed." James raised his eyebrows and looked at her, amused.

"I found that dreadful Caddock Bulstrode throwing Dung Bombs at first years, and he gave chase and I had to run after him. Gave him a weeks worth of writing lines." Lily smiled as she told James the detention she had given their fellow 7th year, who was in Slytherin. Slytherin had beaten Gryffindor in their game last year, but Gryffindor had still managed to go on to win the House Cup, James having caught the Snitch 10 minutes into the game.

"Good, he deserves it." James said with a confirming nod. "All set to go?"

"Yes." Lily grabbed her oversized handbag and her wand, leaving her trunk there, knowing that the house elves would be down any second to take the trunks up to the proper dormitories.

James led the way out of the compartment, pinning his Head Boy badge to the front of his robes as he was walking. Lily could see his wand poking out of his pocket as his robes swished from side to side. She wondered what kind of wand he had. She knew that it had to have a core of phoenix feather, unicorn hair or dragon heart string, but she had a feeling it was phoenix feather or unicorn hair, dragon heart string had been used in wand making very rarely in the last few years. She thought about asking him, but then decided against it.

Lily shook her head quickly to shake these thoughts from her head. She had no idea what was going on, when had she quit thinking about Potter as the arrogant, big-headed, ignorant brat? Now…she wasn't so sure as to what to think of him. He was tall, lean, handsome, confident, and athletic. She was beginning to think of him very differently than she had before.

James turned around to look at the red-haired girl. "Do you want to share a carriage with the Marauders?" He asked her.

"Oh no, I'm going to share a carriage with Arissa and Lynn, we'll meet up later tonight at the feast. Dumbledore has to give us instructions right after the feast, he told me that he'd meet us in McGonagall's office."

"Alright, See you later Lils!" They had stopped walking and James had leapt of the train, and ran down the whole length of it, to the door closest to the compartment where he knew his friends always sat.

Lily shook her head and began to laugh at his antics. She had known he was the fastest and quickest in all of Gryffindor, but she hadn't actually seen how fast he was, she had never bothered to go to a Quidditch game…she had always spent her time studying for Transfiguration, which happened to be her worst subject.

She hopped down off the train and stood on her tip toes to search for her friends. She saw Arissa's tall head bobbing over all the others. She stood up on her tip toes again and waved her hands. "Arissa! Arissa over here!!" Her long black haired friend looked up at her and smiled. Lily looked near to Arissa and quickly saw her other best friend, Lynn.

Lynn was a pureblood, while Arissa was a half blood, and Lily was Muggle born. The three of them made a very interesting trio. In this day and age, with the man named Voldemort rising to power, more and more pure bloods were agreeing with his views. That only pure bloods should be allowed into Hogwarts, and anyone who wasn't a pure blood was second class. Half bloods and Muggle borns were being persecuted every day. Arissa was a half blood and she thought that Voldemort was full of rubbish. Lynn had also said that she didn't know what Voldemort was so worked up about, even he wasn't a pureblood, so he really was one to talk. Lily felt very assured by all of this, knowing that her two best friends would never lie to her about how they felt and knowing that if Voldemort did eventually get extreme power, it would be the Muggle borns such as her that would be the first he would come after.

Lynn also felt the same way, even though her parents were staunch purebloods. Lynn was distantly related to Sirius Black. Their entire family had been in Slytherin until they and their cousin Andromeda had been put in Gryffindor. Lynn's parents didn't support Voldemort, but they thought he had the right idea on the way to go about things. Lynn had shoulder length black hair, clear blue eyes and soft feminine features.

Lynn ran up to her red haired friend. "Lily!" Was all Lily heard before Lynn ran full force into her, knocking her down on the ground. "Oh Lily, I'm so sorry!" Lynn grabbed her friends hand and dragged her up to her feet.

"Ow…did you have to tackle me Lynn?" Lily said with a grin.

"Of course, because then how would you know how much I missed you?" Lynn smiled back at her.

Lily shook her head, the smile still on her face. "Come on lets go find us a carriage girls."

Together they walked to the white horseless carriages and climbed in, settling themselves on the soft velvet covered benches.

"So did you all have a great summer?" Lily inquired.

"Fantastic!" Lynn grinned at her friends. "Andromeda and I got a small flat together so I'm no longer living with my mother." Lynn scrunched up her nose at the thought of her mother.

"When did this happen?!" Lily exclaimed. "We've been writing to you all summer and you never bothered to tell us this?"

Lynn smiled. "Don't worry Lily, this just happened in the last week. Andromeda showed up last week with her suitcase and just asked me, so I took whatever money I had and we left."

"Wow…what does your mum think of this?" Arissa looked at her friend intently, attempting to pick up some sadness, or any kind of emotion besides happiness from her friend.

Lynn shrugged. "She was happy to see me go, and I was happy to leave." She left it at that before quickly changing the subject. "So who do you think will win the Quidditch Cup this year? I think we could pull it off, but Hufflepuff has that amazing Seeker…what's his name again? Oh that's right, Diggory. Didn't you go out with him for a week or so in 5th year Lils?"

"Yeah…he was so obsessive. He was telling people he wanted to marry me a week into the relationship." Lily gave her friends a look of disgust. "Plus, he just wasn't the right type of guy, it felt weird."

"Well maybe this year you'll finally agree to go out with James Potter." Arissa winked at her friend.

Lily snorted. "I doubt it, unless his ego's deflated a great bit." Lily was already slipping into the old habit of hating James. He had been so nice to her on the train, saving her life even, and yet here she was bashing him behind his back.

"What did you guys think about those dementors on the train? Who do you think they were looking for?" Arissa raised her eyebrows.

"Probably making sure that no one slipped on who's a servant for Voldemort. I hear that Voldemort is going to plan on sneaking into Hogwarts and taking it over." Lynn whispered to her friends. "I heard my mum whispering something about it to dad over the summer before I left."

Lily gasped. "You think he'd honestly try and do that? Dumbledore is the only one he's scared of though!"

Lynn gave a small smile. "I don't think he'll try while we're at Hogwarts, but I think one day he will try, that's why we need to offer our help to Dumbledore."

Lily nodded vigorously. "I agree," Lily's voice took on an older male quality, sounding exactly like Dumbledore. "There is a time for descision making, and this is NOT it!" The friends fell back into their seats in a fit of laughter, forgetting about all their troubles for the time being.

James leapt up the single white wrought iron step and into the carriage, plopping down next to his best friends. Sirius sat next to him, while Remus and Peter sat across from them.

"Did you have a good summer lads?" James leaned forward and leaned his elbows on his knees.

"Oh yeah it was good, my mum and dad wanted to go to the Bahamas to research the selkies, so I spent a lot of time in the sun while my parents were down in the depths conversing with them." Remus smiled good-naturedly. His face was tan except for the whiteness of the shallow scratches that had always been on his face.

"I went to the Black Forest in Germany for some research, it was actually very interesting." Peter stated smugly.

"What can be so interesting in the Black Forest besides vampires?!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Well I did find this new breed of fungi…" Peter trailed off.

"Oh yeah, fungi, real interesting mate." Sirius rolled his eyes. "That's almost as interesting as listening to Binns talk about goblin riots." Sirius yawned just thinking about goblin riots.

"Well, **I** thought it was interesting." Peter leaned back in his seat and stuck out his lower lip.

"Hey mate, if that's what floats your boat, don't let us sink it." James clapped a hand on Peter's shoulder and smiled at him. Peter tentatively smiled back. The conversation quickly changed to what pranks they were going to pull this year.

"I say we turn Lucius Malfoy into a hamster and put him in a cage in our room!" Sirius smiled at this thought.

"Noo…because they'd all wonder where he was, we should just transfigure his ears or legs or something." James stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh well…we'll figure something out." Sirius said just as they were pulling up to the castle. All four of the boys stuck their heads out the windows, getting a first glance of the lofty castle. The windows were brightly lit so you could see all the paintings and suits of armor inside. Sirius sighed, relieved. "Home again." He looked up longingly at the castle, realizing that this would be their last year here, never to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry again.

The carriage pulled to a stop and all four boys stumbled out, and over to the steps that led to the main door. Together they walked up the steps and into the Great Hall to watch another Sorting and to start the beginning of their last year.

Fin tell me what you thought of it guys, reviews are much appreciated!!


	4. Of Love and The Biggest Prank Ever

Disclaimer: Sorry I don't own Harry Potter so don't sue me k?

And thanks to all who reviewed! You guys are the best!!

**Of Love and the Biggest Prank Ever**

**By Magical Duct Tape Angel**

_"The heart has reasons that reason cannot understand."_

_--Jacques Benigne Bossuel_

James strolled through the large hallway that held the giant staircase that led up to other staircases, the dorm rooms and other secret corridors and passage ways. Shouts from younger students and also students in the 7th year greeted him.

"Hiya James!"

"Hows it going James?"

"Good summer James?"

James smiled and nodded to all of them, the Marauders joining him in the smiling and nodding to other students. The Marauders happened to be the most popular boys at Hogwarts…except for with the Slytherins. But, then again, every house had its popular boys. For Slytherin it was Lucius Malfoy, Hufflepuff- Amos Diggory, Ravenclaw- Jonathon Bones. Each house also had its popular girls, but James wasn't interested in any of them…except for the one from Gryffindor of course. He smiled at the thought of long red hair, sparkling green eyes, porcelain skin with a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks, and the scent of flowers that always trailed after her.

James sighed, thinking of all the times he'd been rejected by the one he loved, and how he had tried to compensate for the hole in his heart that she had left by going out with a countless number of girls from Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. He had no interest in Slytherin girls-granted a few of them were quite attractive but none of them really attracted him…they were all too obsessed with the purity of blood.

He walked into the Great Hall and plopped down at the Gryffindor table next to Remus with Sirius and Peter sitting across from them. Chatter was happening all around them and Remus was telling Sirius and Peter about how he had gone in the water during vacation and had actually conversed with one of the most beautiful selkies he had ever seen. James leaned forward so that he was bending over the table, his face close to the solid oak of the table. He turned his head so that he was looking down towards the front of the Great Hall to where Lily was sitting. He stayed like that for several moments, watching her smile and laugh with her two friends, who he only knew because Sirius had been interested in the black haired one for almost as long as he had been interested in Lily.

"James…what do you think?" Sirius was doing the exact same thing James was doing, only he was turned so his face would look into James'. "What b are /b you looking at Jamesie boy?"

James sat up quickly and cleared his throat. "Oh nothing."

"I know what you were looking at Prongsie, the young Miss Evans." Sirius gave a roguish wink and then returned to the second subject that James liked best…Quidditch.

"So how do you think Gryffindor will do this year in Quidditch?" Sirius repeated the question he had asked James while he was busy ogling the red-haired Gryffindor.

"We should do well, Donell Wood left last year as you all know and I've officially been made captain, so we bloody well do well this year." James said this with such ferocity that Sirius, who was a Beater on the Gryffindor team, had a feeling that James would have them out there practicing all the time.

Peter was whining from across the table. "I wish McGonagall would hurry up…I'm starving."

James realized that he was also hungry, and began wishing that the first years would hurry up. Just as this thought popped into his head, Professor McGonagall stalked into the Great Hall carrying a 3 legged stool, the ratty old Sorting Hat and a roll of parchment was tucked under an arm. A flock of frightened first years followed behind her to the front of the room. McGonagall began reading off names and the first years would step up and put the hat on. The first person to be called was a small girl with shoulder length coffee brown hair, and "Arena, Andrea," was the first person to be sorted into Gryffindor for that year.

James never really particularly paid attention to the Sorting, but this year it seemed different. This would be the last time he'd watch the younger students get sorted into their houses. Finally "Xenon, Xena," was sorted into Slytherin, and Professor Dumbledore stood up, his voice magically magnified.

"To start off the new school year, I have just two words for you. Tuck in!" Dumbledore clapped his hands, and food appeared on all of the tables.

James stared at the steaming mounds of kippers, chicken legs, roast beef, pork chops and slices of lamb. There were also bowls full of carrots, peas, artichokes and asparagus sitting in butter. Huge bowls of pudding, trifle and mousse were placed strategically amongst the other food items. Piles of pumpkin pasties were next to each plate along with a golden goblet, golden plate, and golden silverware. Glass pitches filled with pumpkin juice were filled and placed every 3 seats. James began to copy his friends by reaching across the table and grabbing some of everything. Sirius had already finished and was busily shoving mashed potatoes in his mouth.

"James…you did remember the map didn't you?" Sirius was still shoveling mashed potatoes in his mouth, but his eyes were fixed on James.

"Of course I did Messer Padfoot." James said with a superior French accent. "For where would we be without the Marauders Map?" He said, continuing with the elaborate accent.

Sirius leaned back and laughed. "Good, because I've been thinking up this prank all summer and I can't wait to let you guys in on it." He leaned forward a little bit in his chair. "I'll tell you guys once I have the details worked out, it's the perfect way to get Snivellus." And with that he shot a nasty look over at the Slytherin table and then continued shoveling food into his mouth.

The first month of school passed without incident. James and Lily patrolled the halls every night from 7 in the evening until 11 at night. By this time they were friends…of a sort. They talked while they were patrolling, mostly about classes and their future. Lily's grade in Transfiguration had slowly been declining since the beginning of 7th year, while James' grade in Charms hadn't quite been up to par. They had taken to meeting in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom at 6 and tutoring each other, and so far each of their grades had been improving.

Lily was astounded at the change in James she had seen. No longer was he the egotistical 5th year, but now he was a focused 7th year, who had humbled himself greatly over the summer.

They came into the Gryffindor common room around 9 to take a quick break and rest. James plopped into an oversized stuffed armchair, and quickly pulled out the Marauders Map, debating on whether or not to see where his friends were. Lily had stopped at the portrait to send a 3rd year back to bed who was attempting to sneak out, but now she was at his side.

"What's that you've got there, James?" She sat down on the couch beside him and stared at the piece of blank parchment in his hand. Ever since he had saved her life from the dementor she had been calling him by his first name.

"Oh nothing really…just a bit of old parchment that's all." James quickly shoved it inside his robes.

Lily was suspicious as soon as he had shoved the piece of parchment in his robes, and she was determined to see what that parchment really was.

"Well…shall we continue?" James stood up quickly and turned to smile at the red-haired girl that was his counter part.

"Yes I suppose we should." She stood up and straightened her robes, then quickly moved to the portrait. James followed her out into the corridor. They stood in the corridor for a fair few moments until finally James cleared his throat.

"Well I guess we should split up then. I'll meet you back here around ten thirty to check up and then we can finish up the last half hour together." This statement was responded by a quick nod from Lily, who then turned on her heel and walked down the corridor. James went the other way down the corridor, but as soon as he was around the corner he pulled out the 'spare bit of parchment' that was the Marauders Map. He also pulled his wand out from the inside pocket of his robes. He tapped the wand to paper and whispered the words that would make the ink appear.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Ink spread throughout the parchment, forming pictures of towers and corridors and stairways, picturing everything that was in or around Hogwarts castle. He quickly scanned the map for his friends and noticed that they were still in the Shrieking Shack. He breathed a sigh of relief, thanking Merlin that he had remembered to tell his friends to wait for him until 11. He also stopped to admire him and his friend's handiwork. James and Sirius had come up with the idea of a map in 3rd year and they had suckered Remus and Peter into helping them. James couldn't help but admire the work that they had put into this.

James quickly scanned the parchment once more, looking for any teachers and to make sure that Lily was still walking the other way. When he found that all the teachers were in their respective offices and Lily was now a floor below him, he gave a sigh of relief and folded the parchment so that if he needed it he could just pull it out and look at it.

He moved towards the stairs and quickly trotted down them until he was on the same floor as the Great Hall. He quickly went down the cold hard stairs that led to the dungeons and to the Slytherin common room. He thought it best to roam around dungeons, due to the fact that Slytherins tended to make their trouble at night. He was moving through the cold dungeon corridor, when he saw something move in a corner. He quickly reached into his robes and pulled out his wand.

"Who's there?" He said loudly. The figure in the corner moved slightly at the sound of his voice. James moved slowly and stealthily towards the object, but instead of hexing it, he prodded it sharply with his wand.

"Ow! Bloody hell!" the figure moved away from the wall so that James could distinctly see that it was a person, hidden under a black cloak. He grabbed a corner of the cloak and yanked it hard so that it fell to the ground with a light swishing noise. Black hair and a pallid face came into view.

"Ah Snivellus. What are you doing out of your dorm at this hour? Come on, go back to your dorm." James was trying his best to be polite to his fellow year Slytherin. Ever since 5th year when Lily had yelled at him for bullying Snape, he had tried his best to be kind to him. James grabbed the Slytherin by the arm and dragged him to the portrait he knew to be the door to the Slytherin common room. The only reason he even knew where the Slytherin common room was, was because he and Sirius had snuck in during 4th year in the middle of the night to transfigure Lucius Malfoy's ears into donkey ears and also to super glue pink fuzzy mittens to his hands.

He stopped in front of the portrait and pushed Snape forward a little bit. "Here you are Severus, have a nice night." James quickly walked away and down a corridor towards the potions classroom. He was so absorbed in thinking about what his friends were up to that he didn't even notice that there was no password spoken and no squeak of the portrait being opened. He quickly jogged up a pair of slimy stairs, being careful not to slip until he reached the Great Hall.

James stopped at the Great Hall and looked around. It was the day before Halloween and the decorations had gone up just that day. Pumpkins lined the windows of the Great Hall and bats fluttered around the ceiling, making nests in the rafters. He looked up at the ceiling at stared at the full moon that was out. It glittered slightly, and there were very few clouds covering it. He was so absorbed in observing the night sky that he didn't even notice the squeak of the front door of Hogwarts being opened, and someone stepping out into the chilly night air. James sighed and thought of all the fun he could be having right now as he stared up at the moon. He shook his head quickly and glanced at his wristwatch-twenty after ten…he should head back up to Gryffindor common room.

James quickly walked towards the nearest staircase and leapt over the first 2 stairs, knowing that those were the trick ones. He jogged up the stairs until finally he reached the second floor corridor. He stopped just before he had to make a turn down another corridor to reach the common room. He reached inside his robes and pulled out the map, examining it for the few minutes he had before he met up with Lily. A moving dot out by the Whomping Willow quickly caught his eye.

"Severus Snape." James spoke the name out loud. It took him several moments to realize that his friends, one of which was currently a werewolf, were still in the Shrieking Shack. If Snape knew how to get into the Whomping Willow, then he'd surely find his friends there, and possibly be the victim of a werewolf attack. He gasped, and with parchment still in hand, ran as fast as he could towards the Gryffindor common room.

Lily was standing in front of the portrait that led to the Gryffindor common room. James ran down the hall quickly towards her. She heard the quick fall of his footsteps before she actually saw him. She turned around to face whoever was running at her.

Lily's eyes widened in surprise as James almost hit her running. "James! What's going on?!"

"I'm sorry! I can't talk now Lily! I'll be back in half an hour!" And with that he sprinted towards the end of the corridor.

Lily wasn't going to let him get away with not even an explanation. She gave an exasperated sigh then set out at a light run after the Head Boy. She was able to follow the sound of his footsteps down a set of wooden stairs and then into the area that was right in front of the great door that led out to the stone pathway and the front lawn. She stopped a few steps from the bottom and watched James grab the door handle, pull open the door, and slide out into the night. Lily ran as fast as she could to catch the door, and then also slid out behind James.

She stopped at the front steps to Hogwarts, watching the dark figure run across the front lawn. Lily gasped in surprise when she realized that he was running right towards the Whomping Willow. She jumped down off the few steps and jogged after him. She watched him duck from the swinging branches that could knock you off your feet and also knock all of the air out of your lungs. He lunged at the trunk and touched a knot that was a part of one of the tops of the roots.

The tree froze in mid swing. One of the larger branches came just within inches of James' head. Lily quickly ran towards him, keeping in the shadows to make sure he wouldn't see her. He disappeared into a hole in the roots of the tree, and she followed stealthily.

Lily paused right inside the entrance to catch her breath, she could hear James sprinting at full force and wondered how he was able to keep it up. She began to run after him, making sure she could still hear his footsteps in front of her. 15 minutes had passed of hard running and she thought that the hallway would never end, when she finally heard the creak of a door. Lily waited until she heard the door close until she crept up to the doorway. Lily stopped at the door and wondered whose house this was. It took her a few moments to realize that it was the Shrieking Shack-the most haunted house in all of England.

Lily stepped through the doorway and inhaled a deep musty sent. Everything in the house had a thick layer of dust, the floor had footprints in the dust. Lily bent down to examine the footprints, noticing that after a few steps, footprints turned into paw prints and hoof prints. She crouched down to examine the paw prints and hoof prints, wondering how James was able to turn his footprints into these odd other prints.

Shuffles, yells and loud bumps were coming from the floor above her. Lily stood up quickly, brushed the dust off of her and quickly darted up the stairs.

James slid out of the warm castle and into the cold night air. He jumped off the few stairs that led up to the large doorway of Hogwarts castle. He ran as fast as he could across the green sweeping lawn that looked almost black in the night. He muttered under his breath as he ran.

"How the bloody hell did Snivellus know to touch the knot at the bottom of that blasted Willow to get in the Shrieking Shack? Someone HAD to have told him." He arrived at the Whomping Willow, and as if the tree sensed that someone had arrived, it swung its branches around wildly, trying to knock him off his feet. Due to his Quidditch skills, he was able to dodge the malicious tree. He lunged towards the knot and touched it, freezing the tree.

James slithered into the hole in the ground that led into the Shrieking Shack. Not stopping to look around, he quickly ran through the dark dirt hallway. After 15 minutes he reached the oak paneled door. He pushed it open and stepped into the hallway of the house. James ran up the stairs as fast as he could, quickly changing into the stag. His clothes fell to a heap on the floor.

Prongs quickly trotted up the stairs, trying to be careful. He knew how rickety these old wooden stairs could be, having fallen through them at the end of 5th year. He reached the top of the stairs just as Snape was opening the door and walking in. He ran as fast as he could to the door, following Snape in. He saw Padfoot sitting in a corner, his eyes filled with mirth at the thought of Snape being ripped to shreds by a werewolf. Padfoot saw James walk in, and gave him a little doggy grin, as if to say, "Hey! Look! Snape's gonna get eaten…or even better…get bitten and turn into a werewolf himself!

The werewolf had already smelled human flesh and blood and leapt at the human figure who had flung himself against the far wall, crouching down as soon as he had seen the wolf. Prongs leapt between wolf and human, allowing the sharpened teeth to scrape and dig into his skin and flesh.

James inwardly howled in pain. He had been bitten by the wolf before, but never had he experienced anything like this. It felt as if his entire body was being ripped to shreds. He quickly turned his head so the sharpened points of the antlers that crowed his head so majestically were able to dig into the wolf's shoulders and shove him back.

Prongs quickly crouched, allowing the 7th year Slytherin to climb on his back. Blood was trickling down his side and down his legs. He found it amazing that he was still able to stand. Somehow he managed to run towards the door, and kick it closed with his back legs.

He staggered down the stairs, feeling faint. When he reached the bottom floor, he saw his red-haired counter part, standing over the clothes that he had shed when he turned into Prongs, a light blush spreading over her cheeks. She looked up as she heard the sound of hooves, and her mouth made an 'O' in surprise. It was then that he realized he was in a house with 2 humans and a werewolf was in an upstairs bedroom, with the door not even being locked. He had to get them out of here.

Prongs got to where Lily was standing and dropped his back legs so Snape could slide off. He quickly transformed back into James, not caring if either of the two saw him naked, just wanting to get them out.

"Lily," he managed to croak. He looked down at his chest, and saw a giant rip with muscle showing through. James didn't dare look any where else for fear that he would see more than just exposed muscle, but exposed bone. "You need to get out of here now!" He could barely stand, he felt his legs turning into jelly, and feared that he'd faint, but he reached a hand out and pressed his palm against the smooth wood, using it to hold him up.

"No James! You're injured!" Lily took a step toward him and blushed slightly at the sight of his naked form.

"No Lily…you need to take Snape and get out now. Go!" He leaned up against the wall, heavily and then felt his knees give out. He slid to the floor, groaning in pain.

"James…Snape's already gone. Plus, I'm not leaving you!" Lily rushed towards him, taking off her black school robes, exposing the knee length black pleated skirt, white button down shirt and red and gold tie that was the Gryffindor house uniform. She quickly covered him up with her robe.

"Lily…I said GET OUT! THERE IS A WEREWOLF UPSTAIRS, ABOUT TO COME DOWN HERE AND EAT YOU ALIVE IF YOU DON'T GET OUT OF HERE NOW! NOW GO! I CAN HANDLE THIS!" Worry, anger and fear filled James' eyes, and Lily realized that he really did care about her, she wondered why she hadn't seen it sooner…he b had /b saved her life on the train after all.

"James, I'm gonna get both of us out of here ok." Lily bent down and gently caressed his face. He leaned into her caress, and attempted to reach a hand up to hold her hand there, but he couldn't move his hand.

Lily pulled out her wand and pointed it at James. "Mobillus!" He floated several feet above the ground, about stomach level with Lily. She waved her wand again and he began to move out the door, she carefully followed, making sure to close and lock the door behind her. Just a few seconds after she did this, she heard something slam against the door and snarling behind it. She gasped in surprise and pointed her wand the door, James still floating right behind her.

"Lily! Hurry! You need to run! He could come through the door any minute!" Lily whipped around and began to run, her wand out in front of her, directing James to move as fast as her. Soon they were towards the end of the tunnel. She heard heavy steps falling behind her, and knew that the creature had attacked James was now coming after her.

The red-haired Head Girl was gasping for air. She had no idea what to do, if she didn't get James back to the castle he might die, but if she didn't care for the creature then it would be free in the woods. Lily's eyes widened when she remembered the spell she had learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts. The spell would erase the scent of both her and James, and the creature wouldn't be able to follow them. She carefully pointed her wand at the earth that she and James had just covered, and then made a long sweeping line from the entrance to the tunnel and then towards the doorway of Hogwarts. She spoke the spell, speaking carefully so as not to mess anything up.

"Erasum nidor!" Yellow sparks flew from her wand and made a line in the earth. She had to make sure to follow the yellow line, because if she didn't, the werewolf would be able to smell them. Lily ran along the line, James still floating in front of her. She looked at him and noticed that he had become unconscious, the great loss of blood being too much for him.

When they two Heads reached the door of Hogwarts, Lily opened the door and James floated inside, Lily following. She let out a strangled cry as she noticed how pale James had become. A line of blood had followed them into the castle. The red head began to weep openly. She clutched the black haired boy's shoulders. "James! NO! You can't die on me! James!" She was sobbing openly now. "No…James….please don't die."

James heard someone weeping. It took him several moments to realize that it was Lily, and all of the memories of that night rushed back to him. Strong, cool hands gripped his shoulders. Why was Lily crying? What was going on? Pain surged to every single one of his limbs and body parts. He groaned and his eyes fluttered open. "Lily, don't cry…please."

Lily lifted her head from his chest where she had rested it. "James!"

"Lily, don't cry. I'm fine." James managed a small feeble smile. A tear rolled down his cheek-partially from the extreme pain he was in and partially because he hated seeing Lily cry. "Lily…I love you. I've always loved you. Just in case…something happens to me….I just wanted you to know." He mustered up his strength and lifted his hand up to caress her cheek. And with that, he felt himself slip back into the darkness that was unconsciousness, and where he felt no pain.

James awoke to a strange stiffness in all of his body. He groaned and tried to sit up.

"No James, don't move." Lily's voice was cool and comforting to his ears. His eyes fluttered open and he noticed Lily was leaning over him.

"Lily…" His voice trailed off.

"James, you're in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey has you pretty much cured. She says you'll be stiff for awhile, but you should be fine. But James…I need to ask you something. Before you went unconscious, you told me that you've always loved me. Is this true?" Her eyes filled with an emotion he didn't recognize. A light blush spread over his cheeks.

James looked into her eyes. "Yes, its true Lily."

"Oh…James!" She threw her arms around his neck.

James' eyes widened in surprise and his mouth dropped open. "Lily, is there something wrong with you?"

"No James, I just wanted to let you know…I think I love you as well." She pulled away and smiled at him.

"When did this happen?" James asked in surprise.

"When I thought I'd lost you last night James, I realized that you'd changed…and I liked what I saw. I couldn't bear to think about losing you." Tears were rolling down Lily's cheeks as she made this confession about her feelings that she had been attempting to bury ever since the first day on the train.

"Oh Lily…you could never lose me. Your stuck with me now." James gave her a grin.

Madam Pomfrey came bustling into the room. "It's time for the patient to rest."

"Oh…alright. I'll see you later James. Get well soon." She wrapped her arms around his neck and gently kissed him on the cheek. She turned to walk out of the room.

"Lily! Wait! Next Hogsmede weekend, will you go with me…on a date?" James leaned out of bed so he would be able to see her. Madam Pomfrey gave an exasperated sigh.

"Sure…I'll see you soon."

Fin! Ok tell me what you thought of it…wow this is a really long fic. 11 pages! Wow! Really let me know what you thought…does this sound about right on what happened? I made up one of the spells, the spell that erases the scent. I went to a Latin-English dictionary to help me. Did I get the spell to move things right? I hope I did…if I didn't please tell me. Thanks!


	5. Of Deals and Dates

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or pretty much any of these characters except for the ones that live in my head.

a/n: thanks to all of you who've reviewed, you guys are amazing! I love you all soo much!

Of Deals and Dates

By Nicecupoftea1107

"My only love sprung from my only hate!"

-Juliet in "Romeo and Juilet" by William Shakespeare

Lily had left him in the infirmary with a giant grin on his face. He was still in pain, but his insides were squirming with excitement. He lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling for a long while, thinking about what had just happened.

James sat up quickly when he remembered exactly what had happened the night before which had caused him to become so injured. He felt a small bubble of anger growing inside him. Sirius had known that Severus would try the knot and find Remus in werewolf form. Snape could've been killed…or worse…turned into a werewolf himself.

James felt extremely stiff, like every bone had been popped out and then been shoved back into place. Madam Pomfrey came bustling in with a bottle of purple liquid and a crystal glass. "Well Potter, you survived…I didn't think you'd make it but here you are." She looked at him with satisfaction, as if the person in front of her was something she had created.

James grinned at the middle-aged woman. "Well you know me Poppy, always escaping those horrendous 'accidents'." He gave her a roguish wink.

James had been in the hospital wing many times over the years. Several for Quidditch related injuries and even more for Marauder related injuries, so he and Madam Pomfrey were on relatively good terms.

"Yes, you do seem to have knack for getting trouble." She shook her head and set the glass down on the small oak table that sat beside the bed. She uncorked the bottle, gently pouring the purple liquid in the glass. The potion fizzed slightly when it hit the glass and turned light blue.

"Here you go Potter. Drink this all up and it'll ease some of the stiffness." She handed him and he quickly downed it all in one swallow. "Mmm…cherry torte." He smacked his lips together savoring the taste of the potion.

"Well, that's done. The potion should also put you to sleep so I'll see you when you wake up." Madam Pomfrey walked away briskly to tend to other patients.

James felt his eyelids droop as if they were weighted down with lead. He laid back and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, to dream of how he had won Lily Evans over.

Lily was walking toward the infirmary when she heard frantic shouting coming from within. She stopped at the door and gently pushed it open just so she could see through. She saw James sitting up straight, his fists clenched around part of his sheet in anger. His normally perfect, easy going face was crinkled into a scowl. Sirius was standing at the end of James' bed, looking shocked, angry and pained. Sirius had both hands wrapped around the metal bar that ran along the bottom of all the beds.

"James…you know I didn't mean to…" Sirius was looking desperate.

"I don't care Sirius! You could've gotten Snape or me killed! Or even worse, Lily! For the love of Merlin, Sirius! Have you no common sense!" James' face contorted in anger and pain for having to yell at his best friend.

"I didn't think..." Sirius was shouting now as well. He was about to finish his sentence when James interrupted him.

"That's right Sirius, you didn't think! You didn't think about what could've happened to Snape, or you for that matter! If he would've gotten killed it all would've been blamed on you and you would've been expelled and then you would've been locked up in Azkaban for murder!" James was shaking with anger now.

Sirius shrank from James's glare. James gave a sigh and sank back against the pillows. "Ok Sirius. We never talk of this again, I SHOULD give you detention…but I won't because if the teachers find out about this whole thing we're screwed…but next time if ANYTHING happens I swear I'll have you writing lines for a month." James gave him a significant look.

Sirius grinned at his best friend. "Righto mate."

Lily wasn't sure what to do. Sirius should be punished but James seemed to have given him a piece of his mind…she decided to just drop it and pretend that she hadn't heard anything. She walked briskly into the infirmary and smiled at both boys.

"Hello Sirius. James." She nodded at James and he sat up quickly and smiled at her.

"Well…I guess I must be off." Sirius grinned at his friend and ambled slowly out of the infirmary.

"How are you feeling James?" Lily sat precariously on a tiny edge of bed that was unoccupied by the long lean Quidditch player.

James seized her long fingered hand in his own rough callused one. "Well my Lily-flower…where do you want to go on our date?"

"I don't care…we could go to the Three Broomsticks for lunch and then wander around the town and go to Honeyduke's and Zonko's." Lily shrugged. "Whatever you wanna do is fine with me."

"Ok well then I shall plan it and we shall do something fun and exciting." James grinned at her.

Lily laughed. "Ok well, I brought you your books." She handed him some books that he hadn't seen her carry in. "You have a lot of Transfiguration homework, so do I. I don't know HOW I'll get it done…I'm HORRIBLE at Transfiguration." She shook her head.

"I'll help you as soon as I get out of here." James' face went seriously quickly.

"Really?" Lily inquired.

"Sure…I have top grades in Transfiguration…its Charms that I'm worried about." James absentmindedly smoothed out his sheets with one hand while the other was still holding Lily's creamy skinned hand. He said this with no amount of bragging in his voice. Lily was still astounded over the change that he had made in the past year.

"I'll help you. I have really good grades in Charms." Lily stated this as a fact as well, not as a brag.

"Ok it's a deal then?" James dropped her hand and held out his hand once again to shake on it.

"Ok…it's a deal." Lily grinned and shook his hand vigorously.

"Well my Lily flower…I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship." James smiled at her and leaned back against the pillows once again.

FINALLY! I'm done! I hope you all enjoyed this!


	6. The First Date

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these and if you sue me I'm suing you back!

**The First Date **

**By Nicecupoftea1107**

_"Dreams do come true, if we only wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it."__J.M. Barrie_

James' hair blew every which way as he walked down the busy street. Today was the day of his first date with Lily and he had woken up to find that it was an extremely blustery day. He had dressed in Muggle clothes…he preferred to wear them on outings…they were just more comfortable. He was fashionably dressed in khaki pants, a black sweater and black Converse. James hugged his arms around him, attempting to shield out the cold and the wind. He stopped in front of a small cottage like building with a wooden sign that hung above the door. The sign swung in the wind. Three crossed brooms were pictured on the wooden sign, with the words "The Three Broomsticks" written in gothic letters.

In two quick steps he was at the door to the small cottage and in the door. Kids of all ages and many adults were sitting around small, round oak tables, sipping at their drinks and talking. The boy with the messy black hair scanned the room quickly, looking for his date. When he noticed she wasn't there yet, his shoulders sagged visibly with relief.

In four strides he arrived at the bar and flagged down the lovely bar maid. He bent his head towards hers and they began to talk in hushed tones.

"Hello Mademoiselle Verde. I was wondering if you would by chance be willing to pack me a picnic lunch for two…I'd pay you well for it." James smiled at her charmingly.

The bar maid giggled at his smile. "Of course Mr. Potter," she said with just a hint of a Spanish accent.

"Good good…I'll come to pick it up in 15 minutes…but until then could you give me 2 butterbeers please?" James dropped 3 sickles on the bar as the bar maid walked away and soon came back with two butterbeers.

James picked up the butterbeers and fought a way over to an empty table by the window that looked out onto the windy street. He stretched his legs out under the table and crossed his arms over his chest.

Lily walked through the door to the Three Broomsticks and saw James sitting at a table in a corner by a window, slowly sipping his butterbeer, another butterbeer was sitting across the table from him.

He was staring out the window at the wind blowing the brown and red leaves, scattering them to the four corners of the earth. His eyes had a dreamy cast about them, and she almost hated to interrupt his daydreams.

Lily stepped over to the table, sliding into the seat across from him. She smiled at him and he looked startled to see her.

He grinned at her. "Lily."

"Is this for me?" She asked him reaching for the butterbeer that was close to her. James nodded vigorously. "Oh…thanks." She grinned at him again before she took a sip.

They sat in silence for a long while, just enjoying each other's company and occasionally lifting the butterbeer bottle to take a swig.

Finally, James gulped down the last of his butterbeer and then cleared this throat. Lily looked up, startled that he had broken the quiet at their table. "Are you ready?" James leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the hard oak.

"Ready for what?" She inquired.

James grinned at her, than gave a small chuckle. "You'll see. Follow me." He stood up quickly, and grabbed her small white hand in his long sun browned one. He dragged her towards the front of the pub, and got the attention of the bar maid. She gave a quick nod to him and stepped through a swinging door to get into the kitchen. She came out carrying a large blonde wicker basket, and she handed it to him.

"Here you go Mr. Potter. Have a lovely afternoon." The bar maid handed him the basket and he smiled at her.

"Thank you very much." He pulled the basket over the bar, and smiled at Lily once again. He picked up her hand again and dragged her to the entrance of the bar and out onto the windy street.

"James where are we going?" Lily's eyebrows knit together in curiosity and concern, her fire-red hair blowing everywhere.

"You'll see my flower." He began to pull her up the street, past Zonko's and Honeyduke's until finally they came to the Shrieking Shack. James pushed open the gate and led her in.

"James? Are you sure its wise to go in there…I mean what if that werewolf is still in there." He still was dragging the red-haired girl willingly to their destination.

"He's not, don't worry. Plus we're not going in anyway. We're going out to the back." James dragged her around the dilapidated old house and into the back. He led her to a grove of withered old apple trees, their leaves and apples having long since perished. Brittle brown grass covered the yard. James winked at her and smiled.

"What?" Lily looked irritated. She expected him to bring her someplace special to him.

He laughed. "Come on, we're not through yet." He walked towards some trees that were placed at the end of the yard. He pulled her through the trees and after 5 minutes of walking through dry and brittle trees, she noticed that the trees were getting fresher; the leaves were a bright red instead of the dull brown. Finally, they came to a field where the grass was still green and there was a small lake in the center of the field.

"I found this one day in 3rd year when I was upset." James didn't mention that he had come here after he had first asked Lily out and she had first rejected him and called him an ignorant, egotistical, pigheaded brute. "Since then it's always been special to me."

"It's beautiful James…I can't wait to see what it looks like in the summer!" Lily plopped herself down on the ground and stared at the small lake. "Where did this lake come from?"

James sat down next to her. "It's a section of the lake in the Forbidden Forest; it just loops around and forms this. Sometimes I go swimming here, its fun. The only people that know about it are me, Sirius and Remus."

"What about Peter?" Lily inquired. She had always thought Peter Pettigrew was a good friend of his.

James shrugged. "He's still our friend but, I dunno. He's been acting funny lately and when I first showed Sirius this place Peter was sick as a dog."

"Oh. Ok." Lily stared out at the water.

James gave a long sigh. "Do you want some lunch?" He reached into the blonde wicker basket and pulled out several containers. He also pulled out several paper plates and cups and several plastic utensils.

He began to open the containers and set them down on the grass. "Ok we have lamb chops, tuna salad, bread, pumpkin juice, butterbeers, asparagus, green beans and potato chips." He handed her a plate and a fork, knife and spoon.

"Alright," Lily took a fork and used it to spear a lamb chop. She also pushed several asparagus and a piece of bread onto her plate. She carefully cut into the chop and took a small bite of it. James also helped himself to some food, eating whatever Lily hadn't picked up. They sat in silence for a good while.

James cleared his throat. "So…um you need help with Transfiguration?" He inquired of her as he picked up two pieces of bread and put some tuna salad and potato chips in between them.

"Yes…it's the only class I'm not getting an O in." Lily shook her head as he took a large bite of his odd concoction.

"Oh what do you have? An E?" James said with as much as a playful grin and a sarcastic edge as he could muster with a mouthful of tuna salad sandwich.

"As a matter of fact NO I'm not getting an E…if I were getting an E I wouldn't be complaining…I'm getting a P." She wrinkled her nose.

"Wow…a P? That's the same thing I'm getting in Charms."

"Hmmm…we should help each other." She said as she finished off her lamb chop and started on a large helping of asparagus.

"Yeah that's a good idea." James nodded at the idea.

"So how DID you learn to become an Animagus?" She inquired of him as she speared a large hunk of asparagus.

"Well…I started in about 3rd year and had mastered it by the beginning of 5th year. It WAS difficult but if you've done it once then it gets easier as you do it more…in fact sometimes I find it hard NOT to transform. There are just times when it feels like it would be easier to just run into the forest and forget about my real self." He took another large bite of his sandwich.

"But how does it feel?" She finished off her asparagus and poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice.

"It's just like…It's hard to explain. It's like everything changes." He gave a hearty shrug and shoved the last bit of sandwich in his mouth.

Lily nodded. For awhile they sat in complete silence, sipping at their drinks. Finally, she stood up and brushed off her jeans. "Well shall we head back?"

James nodded, and stood up. He gathered up all the extra food and trash and tossed it all into the wicker basket. Together they walked back towards the Shrieking Shack, watching as the beautiful autumn trees turned into shriveled brown branches sticking up from the ground.

For the rest of the day they walked through Honeyduke's and Zonko's, buying candy and jokes. Finally, in mid-afternoon they walked up the path that led towards Hogwart's castle.

James walked her to her room, which was close to his. He stopped at the portrait of an old wizened wizard who sat in front of a window, revealing London. They stood in front of the portrait and said good bye, Lily promising to sit with him at dinner later that night.

"So umm…"James eyes shifted unsteadily. "Does this mean we're officially going out now? I mean…are you my…girlfriend?" He was nervous about this because he wasn't sure if she really wanted to be his girlfriend.

"Sure." She grinned at him brightly.

James grinned back. "Well…I guess I'll see you later." She turned around and whispered her password. "Wingardium Leviosa." The portrait swung open, revealing the nicely furnished room within.

He had just turned to walk back to his room, when she turned back around. "James…wait!" He had already made it several strides down the corridor, and she had to jog after him. He stopped and turned quickly around.

Lily ran to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for a nice day." With that, she pulled away, flushed a dark red almost as dark as her hair, and took off down the hallway.

"You're welcome Lily…you're welcome." He whispered under his breath. He strode off down the corridor, a small spring in his step.

James reached his room which was close to the common room and whispered the password, "Golden Snitch." He walked into the red and gold decorated room and flopped down on the soft mattress, pulling the curtains around him. He laid in the dark until dinner…a huge grin plastered to his face.

YAY I'M DONE WITH THIS CHAPTER! FINALLY AN UPDATE! Ok this is going to start moving faster and more characters are going to be involved so I hope you guys will enjoy!


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